


Throbb Christmas present

by Tea_Queen_2112



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas baking, Enjoy @Cafeleningrad, M/M, Ramsay Bolton (Mentioned) - Freeform, Throbb Xmas Week 2017, Winter Fairy Tale, faoladh, winter Solistice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 15:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13126941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_Queen_2112/pseuds/Tea_Queen_2112
Summary: A couple of the prompts done for Throbb Christmas 2017. See tags for prompts chosen.





	1. Stark Christmas baking

Alas it was that time of year again. Just a week before the joyous day of Christmas. Everyone was in a jolly mood on this day. T’was the season for candy canes, family and big get-togethers. The weather was heavy with the flurry of snow beating down upon the small people of Westeros. Most children out playing, most adults bundled up inside with warm drinks in hand. 

“Fuck this fucking shit.” Theon swore under his breath as he ploughed through the snow carrying what might have been the biggest box he had ever held in his life. Robb owed Theon so much for doing this for him. It was the bitterest winter that they had ever had in the north and no amount of layers could keep anyone warm. 

Theon was in a dire amount of pain by the time he reached the Stark’s door. He was going to knock but alas he had no free hands to do so. He looked in through the partially opened window and saw all of the Starklings gathered around the kitchen table and clearly discussing something of extreme importance due to the serious look on the eldest’s face. 

He was able to hear the discussion so he couldn’t help but eavesdrop before entering. Robb was the first to speak. 

“Alright! What are we gonna make for Christmas?” Robb asked the clan of children bringing out the biggest book Theon had ever seen in his life. 

“I think we should make a yule log.” Bran said, wanting to honor tradition as it was a staple of the Christmas diet. Also he didn’t know why but something about having tree themed items just really appealed to him and his senses. The others gave a small meh to which Robb looked around for more suggestions. 

 

Sansa raised her hand gingerly. “I think we should make Lemon bars.” A mousy but hopeful voice said. Robb wasn’t sure it was Christmas-y enough but if nothing better was suggested then they would do it to keep her happy. 

 

“You always want lemon bars Sansa.” Arya said, having perfected the art of the eye roll. 

As Sansa was Catelyn’s daughter she was not going to take that lying down. She had a witty retort planned almost instantly to fire back at her younger sibling. “You always eat the batter before we can make anything. You nearly always get food poisoning from the raw eggs.”

“In my defence I was testing it. You could have gotten the food poisoning but I was the one who took it for the team!” Arya said almost like a lawyer trying to defend herself in court. Sansa let out a long, pained sigh and rubbed her eyes while her sister was snickering at her, snorting and holding her belly with laughter. 

During all of this commotion the youngest wolf was looking around confused. He was at the grand age of six years old so he knew that there was something amiss here. They were one person short.

“Where’s mum again?” Young Rickon asked as he looked up from the leg he was clinging on to. Robb lifted him up and set him on the counter, looking him in the eyes with that all knowing look. 

“For the last time Rickon she’s with aunt Lysa. It’s her first year without Jon and she needs   
help with Christmas shopping.” He told him. Rickon seemed to remember Robb saying that for one second, then he lost it, simply smiling placidly up at Robb. Lysa hadn't been doing well the past couple of months and in all honesty she was going rather insane. Apparently child services had been called on young Robin after a rather lewd secret was exposed about the two. 

As soon as he mentioned Catelyn not being on the premise Theon was all the more eager to get into the house, out of the cold. 

The door handle jiggled and Rickon ran to fling it wide open, hoping that it was going to be his mother back from their crazy aunt's place. He didn’t even bother to look up and see whose legs it was he was hugging, all he knew was that he wanted to grab onto them and never let them go. 

The person wobbled for a bit and would have fallen over had it not been for Rickon letting go. 

Instead of their mother it had been Theon Greyjoy who Rickon had attacked with affection. He reaffirmed his grip upon the heavy box he was holding and looked around to see them staring back at him. A little bit of intimidation gripped at him but he kept on ploughing through the kitchen and after nearly tripping over his feet several times he was able to place the box down on the table. 

He panted and caught his breath. Robb better have had something good planned for this because he did not carry a 4kg box all the way from his home to his place. Alas he would have been able to take the car but all of the roads were off limits until some more of the snow had properly cleared. 

Robb walked over and kissed one of his flushed cheeks. It would have been pleasing had it not been for how cold his skin was. From the amount of layers he was wearing one would have thought he would be overheating but it hadn’t seemed to have helped against the cold weather conditions. It was so frosted had Robb stuck out his tongue it probably would have been stuck as if it were one of those cliched moments were teenagers get their mouths attached to frozen street lamps. Though being attached to Theon didn’t have many disadvantages. 

“Hey Theon. Thanks for bring the mixer on such short notice.” Robb thanked him. 

Inside of the box had been a mixer. The Starks had planned to bake earlier in the morning but when Catelyn tried to make some fruit cake for her sister it had sparked and nearly caught fire to the curtains. Ned was able to save it in time thank goodness but other than that it would be another good while before they could buy a new one. All of their December budget had gone towards the Christmas gifts. 

“No problem Robb.” He said in the cheeriest voice possible. What he was going to say was something completely sarcastic, possibly even lewd but with the kids presence so close his vocabulary became very restricted. 

Theon couldn’t help his curiosity. They had several ingredients spewn all across the room and all the equipment that was needed for the process. Robb noticed this and felt incredibly rude that he had not even offered him to join in. 

“Do you want to join us, Theon?” Robb extended his hand in the offer to him. 

Theon rubbed his shoulder and coughed. “I’ve...uhhhh...never done any Christmas baking.”

Theon felt like a helpless bird in that all the Starks turned to look at him like they were wolves who had been starved. Apparently he was only learning now how big Christmas was in the Stark household. Rickon looked like he was about to cry for Theon having never experienced the joy of having home baked goods filled with happiness and cheer. The others understood but since Rickon was the newest to the world he didn’t understand yet. 

“I never knew. Well, you're here now.”

“What?” Theon replied, confused. 

“You can start baking here with us.” Robb grabbed a wooden spoon and put it into Theon’s freezing hands. 

Theon paled. On one hand he really did not want to do this. Both for personal reasons and the main fact that if he was given the simple chore of making a ham sandwich at least 2 fire brigades would be needed to try and reverse the damage that he had caused. On the other hand he was surprised he had not died from hypothermia and he didn’t like his chances if he went outside again. 

He gave a nod and Robb brimmed with cheer. He loved doing things with Theon. He loved baking and now the two of them were going to come together and it was going to be wonderful. 

“What are you making?” Theon decided to ask him. He knew that they hadn't decided but he’d rather make a conversation and let them know he hadn’t been eavesdropping on their previous conversation. 

“We have yet to decide.” Robb said, side eyeing the others who refused to make an unanimous choice. 

“Why don’t you chose?” Sansa asked, handing Theon the book. Now Theon’s thinking was that the mixing machine would be the heaviest thing he would have to carry today but as it turned out nothing would have been quite as heavy as the cook book. 

All of the things in it sounded gross to him. Vegetable Christmas casserole. Bleh. Quail egg tarts with a crouton salad. No thanks. Red pepper and goat's cheese flatbread. Theon just skipped to the end of the book. That was where all the really good items of food were kept. Those sweet, sweet desserts. Of course he would eat seafood but Robb was often his only source of anything green. 

Theon had a pretty good sweet tooth which Yara had told him multiple times to keep under control but Theon lacked that aspect of his life. It was both a blessing and a curse. He always could justify his sweets as there was a large period of his life where he wasn't allowed to eat much at all. 

Theon flipped through the 204 paged Christmas themed cooking book, having no idea of what to choose. Then he saw one which had a minimal chance of going wrong so he stopped his finger on the picture and pointed it out to the rest of them, his choice was met with wide smiles all around. 

“This one I suppose.” He said pointing towards the baking photo that would represent nothing of what the final product would actually look like. 

“A Christmas cupcake tree with peppermint hot chocolate, sounds like a plan.” Robb was actually rather pleased with it as he had always loved that recipe since he was a child.   
Robb then split the kids into two groups of two. 

“Bran and Rickon, you take decoration, Sansa and Arya, you take mixing and measurements, Theon, you and I will take the technical stuff and baking.” Almost like soldiers all of them went to their positions and began doing what Robb had commanded them to do. Theon wasn’t going to lie. Hearing Robb’s commanding voice was very, very attractive. He must get him to say it when they are alone. With no kids in sight, of course. Was it good for him to be pushed around with a demanding voice again? Probably not, but he didn’t care. 

Theon nodded eagerly. He was unsure as he had never really baked, let alone cooked anything but he was willing to try as it seemed that the kids really wanted him to join in and who was he to disappoint so close to the holidays. 

“Where do we start?” Theon knew baking but he wasn’t too sure about this specific recipe.

Robb looked puzzled then came up with a plan. “Well I think we’ll let the kids make the batter while we can take the more dangerous hot chocolate. 

“Dangerous hot chocolate?” With Theon’s sense of humor he assumed that Robb was being sarcastic which did seem rather unusual to him however he soon learned it was quite the opposite. 

“Do you want Catelyn to hear we let the kids get burned?” Robb said, getting out ingredients while Theon took a moment to realise what was just said. Theon then assisted in helping Robb get the things for the kids while they worked on the more dangerous aspect. He was sure Sansa was old enough but he did not trust Arya one bit with anything that could be dangerous. That and Rickon's mischievous nature could sometimes get the very better of him. 

“Good point.” With that Theon began getting out the ingredients. It was a process of looking at the book, searching through the disorganized cupboard for 3 minutes, finding what he was looking for, going to the book to find the next thing he needed and repeat. Robb couldn’t help but snicker watching Theon fumble about, nearly dropping everything he got his hands on. 

Robb could see that they were still shaking so he gave his callous, rough hands a quick warming kiss and the movements stopped by a significant amount.

Theon was half tempted to chuck a handful of flour at him but the bag only seemed to be half full and with the Christmas weather the way it was they had an ice cube's chance in hell of getting to the store. With that notion he decided not to prank Robb but instead handed it to the two girls for proper weighing. 

Theon overlooked the recipe once again.. “Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.”

Theon took one look at the Stark’s oven and was completely lost. He was fine using his own in his little apartment but this was a completely different model. Robb was, needless to say, the one who had more money in the bank. Digitized and big, family friendly. At this point in time Theon did not have any type of oven. 

Theon lightly pressed down on a small button which had a picture of an oven over the top and retracted his hand as soon as it let out a sharp, ringing sound. Robb took a quick glance to make sure it was okay and as soon as he saw Theon panicking he nodded. Theon had done nothing wrong. 

Robb had already gotten the cocoa on a hob and was bringing it to the boil as he slowly added the milk. Watching Robb was like watching a painter working on his magnum opus. He looked so focused on it as well. Theon was so focused on Robb he didn’t even hear him reading out the next step for him to complete. 

“Next we add the coffee.” Robb repeated. 

Theon had to make sure that he had heard Robb correctly. He re-read the recipe and sure enough about one full cup of hot and bitter coffee was needed. By the title he was certain the author of the book must have made an error while writing. Or perhaps they had consumed one too many Christmas brandies. 

“Didn’t you say it was peppermint cupcakes?” Theon replied snarkily. 

“A little bit of coffee brings out the chocolate flavour more. Idiot.” Robb commented, turning the tables. Theon being played at his own game. Sort of hot. 

He gave a small ohhh sound before then getting the kettle boiled for the coffee and possibly even a small cup of tea. Thought he had been in the house for at least 15 minutes he was still feeling frozen to the bone and the only cure would be a nice cuppa. 

“Could you go check on the kids? We need the peppermint.” Robb asked, stirring away at the brew. Theon nodded and he walked through the door to where the boys were sitting and preparing their decorations. 

It was cold but the boys both had big smiles on their faces. “How’s it going you two?” He asked. 

Bran was the first to answer. “Good, Rickon and I are cutting the candy canes up.”

Horror dawned upon Theon as he looked down to a pretty terrifying sight. Rickon was half-hazardly cutting the candy canes with one of those plastic handled kitchen knives meant for smaller vegetables. 

“Rickon, give me the knife!” Theon yelled as he ripped the knife from the six year old's hands. He wasn’t aware of all the Stark’s traditions but he was pretty sure letting their youngest hold a decent sized, recently sharpened kitchen knife wasn’t one of them. 

Like a mother watching over a cub Theon checked the both of them for injuries and only allowed himself to breathe when he was 100% sure they were both okay.”

Robb was in the room in a second flat as soon as he heard the words Rickon and knife in the same sentence. “WHO GAVE RICKON THE KNIFE?!” Robb yelled as he picked up the child and set him at the side to sort out the small gold and silver decorations into their separate piles. Theon had the knife in his hand and after a brief moment of panic he tossed it on the ground and looked around for something else he could give them.

“Here! Try crushing them instead.” He handed them a rolling pin because if kids were going to have a weapon it might as well be a blunt one. 

Rickon and Bran took the kids sized wooden rolling pins and put the candy canes into a ziplock bag and sealing it tight. Both of them brought it down and began the process of beating on it viciously. It was noisy but it seemed to be getting the job done. Once the two supervisors were sure the kids wouldn’t get hurt they left them. 

They collected what they needed and headed back into the kitchen. 

As they entered the kitchen again both could guess who the culprit was in telling Rickon it was ok to use a knife. All eyes went to Arya. She was in the process of trying to sneakily steal one of the bars of chocolate that was laying out in the open. She could hear the cough Robb used to get her attention and quickly put back her steal. 

“I was just getting the chocolate bar for the recipe.” She said through chocolate stained lips. 

“Arya, the recipe doesn't need a bar, it needs cocoa powder.” Robb told her. She remained cool but her eyes panicked. Luckily she had one of Ned’s watches on and she was quick to get herself out of the sticky situation. 

“Is that the time I think I have to meet Hot Pie and Gendry for last minute Christmas shopping. Bye” She tapped her watch and in a speed that was impossible to the human eye she grabbed her coat, keys and headed straight out. Robb was used to this type of behaviour but Theon was not so this stunned him quite badly. 

“Arya wai- And she’s gone.” Robb didn’t know what the hell Jaqen H'ghar was teaching Arya in her fighting classes but whatever it was, was giving her superpowers. Speed and getting out of trouble being the most powerful ones. He put a hand on his forehead and sighed resignedly. 

Theon glanced to Robb and was genuinely confused by his smile. It seemed their numbers were dwindling. 

The hot chocolate was beginning to look very, very good. The chocolate had melted into a smooth liquid and the smell was so heavenly. It was a lot better than the overpriced holiday drinks one would get at the coffee shop. 

Theon was in charge of putting all the wet ingredients into the bowl. As he took the ingredients of Sansa she too was beginning to get her things together. Theon first thought she was going with Arya but then he remembered she didn’t really get on with Arya’s buddies and her younger sister would not let herself be embarrassed by bringing her sister along. 

“Sansa where are you off too?” Theon asked as he was slowly placing the butter in a butter bain--marie. She turned and put her coat on as she began to explain. 

“Me and Jeyne are going to help Brienne decorate her house. She’s lonely with Jamie being away for the next couple of days and could need the help. 

Apparently Jamie Lannister was off fighting some kind of Christmas legal battle involving Robert and his sister. Divorces could be a messy business and at Christmas it became the worst time of year as affairs were at least 3x more likely to be exposed. Brienne also needed emotional support as she feared that something might happen with the twins while he was with her. Rationally she knew he wouldn’t but doubt was a bitch and remained in the back of her mind. 

Robb nodded upon hearing this and let her go on her way. 

“Ahh. Well have fun you three. Don’t keep Poole too long. You know how her dad gets.” Robb mentioned almost as if he were standing on a thinly frozen over lake. 

“I know Robb.” Sansa said, rolling her eyes. Her brother told her this every time.

Theon tried to recall the last time that he had seen her. It must have been about two years ago if memory served correct. They had come from bad situations but he was hoping since their daring escape from that life she had been able to move on. 

A knock from the door. Sansa went to open it and look and behold Jeyne was the one behind it. 

“Oh hey Jeyne.” Sansa said as she practically tackled her best friend with a huge hug of seasonal friendship. 

Jeyne came into the house for the moment and Theon could have cried at how healthy she was looking. Her hair hadn’t been choppy as he had last seen it and her skin was free of anything that resembled scarring. She looked happy and that was all that mattered. Eyes twinkling like the Christmas lights on a tree. 

The two girls shared another brief hug before she went to say hello to Robb and the person beside him. “Hiya Sansa, You Christmas baking with your fam....” 

Her and Theon locked eyes and both of the Starks were trying to decipher what the look meant. Theon coughed to hide the wetness in his voice. Jeyne was hugging him in a second flat. Theon returned the tight hug and both tried to hide the joy and melancholy of seeing each other after so long. 

“Theon. How are you doing? I haven’t seen you since R-” Jeyne was cute off. 

“Since the revision courses. Haha how could I forget? Silly me.” Theon interpreted her to Jeyne’s surprise. Needless to say she was stunned for a moment but she could tell he was lying about something by the way his eye did a slight twitching. Luckily the two of them had the best non verbal communication than anyone else on the planet and she could guess Robb wasn’t informed of the whole Ex situation.

“I’ve been grand. Come on Sansa. Let’s leave them alone. We shall be back before you know it. I’ll catch up with you later. Treat him well Robb.” Jeyne warned before leaving quickly as she felt the longer she stayed the most she risked saying something that exposed him and she’d rather not have that happen so close to the holidays. Theon knew that the code for catching up later really meant explain his current situation. 

They said their goodbyes and Robb only had one thing to ask of Theon. 

“You know her?” It seemed odd. She was a teen girl from an upclass family and he was a twenty two year old from a mysterious Iron Born family. It didn’t seem right but Robb interpreted the lie about them meeting at revision classes and assumed she was doing some kind of tutoring programme. 

“We used to see each other. This thing we used to do. Like an after school course. She’d tutor me.” Theon lied. Jeyne had taught him many things but none of them from the classroom. Survival skills he supposed. 

“Fair enough. Jeyne’s whole family is pretty good. I know the dad. Shame about her though.” Robb said. 

“Why?” Theon asked, his voice on edge. 

The Stark gave a long and deep sigh. “Sansa said she was in a bad relationship. Some guy, pink kinda motif going on. She doesn’t talk much about it.”

Theon knew exactly who the pink guy was but he wasn't going to think about him for one second. He knew what it was like to not be able to talk about it as well. The battle in his mind about whether this was dishonest or not was constantly going on. 

“I don’t know anything about that. You’re a way better boyfriend than him.” Theon put a bit of his longish hair behind his head. Though to everyone he knew it was always a black colour and it always had been. Well, recently he was using a dye and praying that no one would notice the difference. Situations in his past left such stress that it had started to change early to white. 

 

“You said it's been a while. I’m sure you would have helped had you known.” Robb reassured him. Theon had helped her quite a lot at the risk of himself. He’d done some things that could have been considered cowardly and while it weighed heavily he was ready to slowly begin the process of healing. Robb had not scared him in the least and he was hiding his trauma well. They’d escaped together and it was in the past. Now he had a future with Robb Stark to look forward to. A good future indeed. 

A loving glance focused on his love's face as he thought about how lucky he was and Robb took notice and turned his face away to hide his goofy little smile. Theon was glad that Robb was here, he was glad to be with his family. His life was in a pretty good place at the moment. The only thing he had to worry about was the cupcakes. 

They fell silent and a couple minutes after Sansa had left. They had gotten all of the washing up done and their hands had gained that pruney type texture after being in the water for too long. Theon asked a question while putting the mixing bowl back into its proper place. 

“I thought this was a family thing.” 

As much as he wanted to leave it alone he couldn’t help but see how Sansa and Arya leaving made it a family activity. In fact in his younger years his mother would practically lock all of them in the kitchen for family bonding time. Theon remembered his older brothers, how they would ‘oh so playfully’ pour the gravy over his hair and into his pants causing many tears and a lot of butt spankings from the Iron Queen herself. 

Robb chuckled. He could see where Theon was coming from with his quip. It had been this way for about three years now. The family had tried their hardest to keep the kids in the kitchen during their family baking day but as they got older they had more independence and wanted to begin their own traditions. It saddened Catelyn more than anyone else but when faced with the question their mother was always the first one to say it was fine for them to go out with their friends. “They’re teens. I don’t mind. I’d say in about 5 minutes when Bran and Rickon finish they’re going to get bored and go watch cartoons. They’ll come back in when they’re ready to decorate.” 

Theon understood and proceeded in reading the book, gladly moving on from the whole topic of his hidden past with Jeyne. He really would tell Robb about it. Just not now. 

“Next we mix it.” Theon said reading the recipe for what was at least the tenth time that day.   
They lifted the bowl and poured its contents into the mixer.

This is where it went to hell. 

Theon turned on the mixer but what he didn’t realise was that the numbers did not stand for minutes but in actuality they stood for the power setting. Violently the bowl began to shake and the mixture began to go everywhere. Theon’s top was covered with the half batter half flour mixture and thought Theon was still in momentary shock Robb couldn't help but laugh at the state of him. 

Theon sneezed three times in order to get all of the flour out of his nose. A small white cloud surrounded him for a couple of seconds. 

Theon inspected the damage on himself and his white top was ruined with half white half chocolate splatters all over it. His hair could be salvaged in the sink but no doubt his top would need a good power cycle in the washing machine. He didn’t want to ask Robb for any of his charity but it seemed in this situation he would have to ask.

“Do you have a spare top? Just to wear while this one is in the wash.” He asked, hiding the blush slowly spreading across his face. Robb’s face turned quickly from his hearty laugh. It twisted with an unpredicted excitement. He suddenly ran out of the room with a quickness he had never seen before. Theon called after him but he was gone. 

Robb came back in with two Christmas sweaters in hand. And by his look they were the ones that were made to be professionally cringey. Theon should have suspected Robb would try something like this. There was no way Theon was going to be seen wearing that but there was something he couldn’t bear more. Breaking Robb’s puppy dog face. 

He was freezing his nips off so he could use that as his excuse for wearing it if Yara decided to drop by if she needed anything. 

Begrudgingly he took the sweater in his hand and put it on. Theon forgot to look at the sweater before putting it on and he saw it’s reflection. It was worse than he could have imagined, it was a legitimately funny sweater. And it looked pretty cool as well. Theon’s emotions on the current matter were very mixed thanks to this. 

“We do not snow.” Theon repeated the Jumpers mantra to himself and let a small snicker escape from him. Robb had become so preoccupied with seeing Theon so cute that he himself had not actually put on his yet. 

“Wait look at mine!” Robb said as he was already halfway through struggling to put his sweater on. Theon’s eyes rolled playfully and he helped his love to get it over his head. Robb would be lost without him.

On Robb’s it was a wolf wearing a Santa hat with the words ‘Santa is coming’. 

“That’s adorable.” He said slightly above a monotone voice. In reality Theon could not get over how freaking adorable Robb looked in this moment. His hair was extra curly thanks to the heat now coming from the oven, his smile was beaming like the star onto the tree and by god the sweater was a little bit too big for him and it was letting a little bit of his shoulder show. If this was one of Rickon’s cartoons Theon would have fallen over with a little white flustered cloud hanging over his head, having a dribble of red blood coming from his nose. 

“Thank you. I got them made on the in- Are you blushing?” Robb stopped releasing what was happening to Theon at this current moment in time.

He wiped his face over and over to try and get rid of the pinkness and in turn stop him from embarrassing himself any more than he thought he was. Robb reassured him that everything was okay and how cute he was, causing the pink to spread a lot quicker across his face. 

“N-n-oo. It's just really warm.” Theon corrected his clearly delusional mistake. Theon did not do cute things like ‘Blush’ and ‘Hide when he found things cute by denying them’ 

A knowing smirk and Theon began to laugh, making a little snorting noise as he did so. Every laugh from Theon was a victory in Robb’s book. 

Looking up at the clock they should have had the cupcakes in the over about 5 minutes ago in order for them to be ready by the time Ned and Catelyn got home. Robb took over the responsibilities of mixing while Theon greased up the tin with parchment paper and a pastry brush. 

They mutually agreed that they would split the mixture between themselves. Robb doing six and then Theon doing six as well. Fitting the 12 cupcake moulds perfectly. Rickon and Bran had already taken the action of placing the bun cases in the tin. 

It was clear who was the professional baker as Robb’s cupcakes were poured with perfection and precision. All having an even level and not a chocolate drop out of place. Even the finish seemed to have a nice gleam of them. It was amazing how he wasn't a baker or in the food profession because Theon knew he could excel in that profession. 

Theon on the other hand… If it was being done mathematically by Bran he would say that roughly 84% of the mixture went into the correct places. On his first attempt at pouring Theon misjudged the distance and some of the mixture wound up upon the wooden table. Even Theon knew they were pretty uneven. 

“Hey that’s pretty good for your first attempt. I’ve been doing this for years so I know. You can learn. That just means we will have to get you over next year.”

His smile was small but earnest. The idea of Theon still being in a relationship by then was really appealing to him. And with Robb it could very well work out for the best. Theon began to subtly nuzzle into his broad and strong shoulder. Robb obliged and carefully made a small security blanket around him. 

He really wanted to do him proud but he was afraid Robb was just lying to him to save his feelings. Since Robb was the most perfect little angel imaginable he still smiled and said it looked wonderful. He was being honest of course. Theon, seeing as how all of the buns had been filled out, decided to open up the oven to put them in. Robb only got a glimpse of his hand moving towards the oven door and he tried everything in his power to stop him before disaster. 

“Theon darling don't open the oven do-”

It was too late. The gust of hot air attacked Theon's face and his eyes squinted in pain. It wasn't the most painful thing that had happened but it was probably up there among the most painful. Theon still had minor scarring from previous events but he was over it now. He had cut that piece of cloth from the blanket of his life and was ready to add Robb in that place.

Robb's hands were already halfway to the small, wooden cabinet where they kept their eye wash handy but Theon kept on insisting that he was fine. Besides if he had bothered to go to university he would have probably became a doctor thanks to all the injuries he knew how to heal. 

‘That could be a fun idea.’ Theon though. Him as a famous doctor and Robb as the world renowned chef. They could start a tv programme. Medical meals they could call it. Theon got crazy little ideas like that sometimes but that was a thing that drove Robb to love him even more. 

“I’m grand. Just give me a moment.” He said as he felt around Robb’s festive jumper in order to find something that he could cling on to. He eventually just ended up locking both hands around his waist and just sort of hanging on. Robb didn’t mind and led him to the sofa where he could sit down and wait out the pain. 

Robb planted them down with near exhaustion. Surprisingly it had taken a lot of effort in order to get everything done. Also the sweltering heat of the kitchen did not help at all. He would have opened the door but then again it was a lot colder outside than it was warm so they decided to keep the heat inside. 

The pain passed in about five whole minutes, which quite coincidentally, was when the hot chocolate had finished cooking on the hob. 

The hot chocolate had just about finished brewing and it was left on a low heat upon the stove. Robb poured the two of them a mug of hot chocolate each. Robb being the artist he was, topped it all with all the celebratory crap you could imagine. Sprinkles of every rainbow colour, a deep rich caramel sauce, light and fluffy whipped cream (Hand whipped not the terrible store bought that left an aftertaste.) and finally the red and green coloured marshmallows. Of course no holiday themed drink would be complete without a small sugary candy cane on the side. 

‘This man..’ Theon thought smirking. Robb did get a little bit extreme but Theon found it adorable in a sort of way. He was passionate about something and that was what made it so fascinating to watch. He was glad now he made the choice to stay. 

“So you do this every year?” Theon asked curiously, tilting his head a little to the side, his voice raised thanks to the Christmas movie playing away one the television, a public domain song being used as a plot point. 

“Yeah. I’m surprised you don’t. You have a pretty big family. I saw two pictures. You had Yara and your two brothers I have yet to meet.” Robb said nudging him playfully thinking he was being cute. Theon nearly choked on the small sip he had took. It had been the longest time since anyone had brought up Rodrick and Marron that he almost forgot they had existed. 

“Oh….They’re dead. My brothers.” Theon knew that it would be brought up later on and he would rather not have to deal with that so he said the truth. 

Meanwhile Robb was begging every god to make him pop out of existence. He should have known something was up as he was sure to have brought them up at one point or another. There was no way he could have known but still he felt like an utter idiot. 

“Theon I swear I had no idea.” Robb put down his mug and began to apologize as much as he could. This was the second time in an hour he had been hugged by someone who wasn’t blood related to him. It felt nice. 

“It's okay. It happened when I was like nine years old. They were asses. They would always pick on me. It's fine.” Theon had barely gotten to know his elder siblings but according to everyone else they were perfect. Unlike him they were strong and confident. Balon missed them everyday but instead of being sad about it he took out his frustrations on his son and daughter. Yara failed to understand how much it would hurt when he was told he should have been the one to go.

Robb wiped away the stray tear and Theon sucked up it up as if it were second nature to him. There was a pang of concern from Robb about this but he supposed Theon just didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his boyfriend. It did make sense. Theon did seem on edge sometimes and he now knew why. Robb was along the right lines but he just had the wrong people involved. 

“Every since mum was sent away we don’t really anymore.” Theon took a quick sip and the peppermint was one of the most delicious things he had ever had the pleasure of putting down his throat. Aside from Robb of course but that was something he couldn’t joke about now with Rickon only an earshot away. 

The room may have been warm but it dropped to the outside temperature when Theon said what he had. 

Robb was learning way too much all at one time. It was overwhelming Theon more than it was his love. 

“Sent away?” Robb asked looking down at the hot beverage and swirling it in the cup. Theon averted his eyes to the side in hopes Robb would get the hint and leave him alone. He had said too much. Robb felt he had already tempted him enough with the whole accidently bringing up the dead brothers. Then again it was rare that Theon would bring up such personal information and Robb could tap into a well of emotions which he never knew he had before. 

“Ergh...It’s stupid.” Theon knew he was being ridiculous. Emotions were something he would try and shut off. His emotions could be out of balance from time to time thanks to past experiences. He felt a constant need to hide this away from others as many people had told him in his life it made him look weak. 

“Dude come on.” Robb was trying to find the right language to convince him to spill the beans without forcing him to give it up. 

“Well when I was young mum would used to make cookies with me, Yara and my brothers. She’s had some mental problems for a couple years after their deaths. Dad couldn’t deal with it and she was sent to a home.” Theon was only halfway through when he realized he had probably spoiled the mood. He quietly whispered words of apology and finished off his drink. It was slightly burning against his throat but he used it to try and hide his sense of weakness.

Theon had pleaded with his father to let their mother stay but unfortunately Balon’s heart was made of jagged salt rocks and he ignored his plea and sent Alannys away to some god forsaken nursing home. Thankfully Yara had always been that little bit smarter than Balon and managed to send her to one of the best without him knowing. Draining some of that fortune he kept locked away for himself. 

Theon was going to move to leave and avoid anymore words but Robb embraced him in a hug. Theon wouldn’t say he was crying but the warm tenderness of the hug did leave him a little misty eyed. 

Robb wasn't sure how he could respond. Theon had a bumpy road and Robb wanted to smooth it out as much as he could. “Where is she?” He asked guessing she would be in some kind of home or mental institution. He prayed it wasn’t the latter as those could be cruel to elderly woman. Or so he heard. Cat had mentioned how some women she knew had relatives there and it never ended well, often in emotional turmoil. 

Theon had to think for a moment. When was the last time that he had visited her. 3, no, 4 months ago. He felt like he was a bad son but a lot had been going on then. “Ten Towers nursing home. Her sisters are there so she’s not lonely.” Whether he was saying that to make it sound better to Robb or himself was a mystery.

The Greyjoy felt a warm pair of hands wrap around him. He melted at the thoughtfulness of the gesture. He didn’t know what it was but something about his personality made him forget everything bad that happened in the past. 

Little did he know that Theon had just about the same effect on Robb. 

Just like him, Robb Stark had some dirty little secrets he didn’t feel like bringing up to Theon just yet as it was still early days and all he wanted to do was take baby steps within the relationship. He would tell him about Talisa at some point. Just not now. 

“When Catelyn comes back we should go. We could bring her a cupcake. And a flask too.”

Theon had already over shared a lot and now that Robb was talking about all of these plans he felt like he had somehow made it Robb’s shared responsibility. “Robb you don’t have to.”

A hand gently stroked his cheek but when his fingertips were just above his chin his face was brought up to look at the others. Dull brown eyes with a hint of a spark directly gazing into the contrasting sharp blue. A moment of passionate tension between the two. Theon felt small but this time it was in a good way. 

“I want to. Listen I know we’re both new to this dating thing but I want to know you better and I‘d like to meet your family. You’ve met mum lots of times I just want to meet yours.” They may have only been dating for a couple of months but the eldest Stark could tell that the youngest Greyjoy was trying to hide his family. Sure he had gotten to know the acquaintance of the ever lovely Yara Greyjoy who told him multiple times to stop fucking her brother but other than that it was a mystery. In the beginning Robb had assumed they were dead but on a date Balon got name dropped when Theon got a call from him.

Theon was overall uncomfortable at first but the more he considered the more he saw logic in what Robb was saying. Besides what harm could it do. Aside from him finding out how fucked up his family was and it only got worse with each branch of the family tree that was explored. . Only little details of Balon’s abusive nature had slipped through the cracks and Theon was intent on not letting his one true love find out anymore. 

The Greyjoy often wondered if another reason he stuck around with Robb was because all of his family acted like those families in the Tv shows Theon watched growing up. He knew it was unrealistic for them to be that happy but the Starks honestly seemed to be like that all the time. He wouldn’t say he was jealous of the family dynamic but he certainly yearned for his family to be more like that. 

“That sounds good. I’ll give her a call.” Theon said smiling and pulling out his phone. 

“I'm glad.” Whenever Robb saw Theon with a smile upon his face he knew that he had done something right. 

Theon went into the other room to make the call and Robb waited for his return with high hopes. He took a seat where he could observe Theon’s pretty boy face. First he noted there was lots of anxiety and tension building up, then he stopped entirely when Robb assumed someone had picked up. Theon’s fingers were tapping at the table and anxiety spiking yet again.

Then finally the face that Robb had been waiting for. Relief washing over him like a wave of purifying salt water. 

After a couple minutes Theon returned to the kitchen with a smile upon his face. All was well. 

A ding was heard before anyone spoke and Robb took the buns out of the oven. They smelt really good, like if Christmas was a food it would probably be these cupcakes. So light and fluffy by the looks of things too. Nice moist muffins were what was required and it was exactly what they had gotten. Robb placed them down on the cooling rack and the moment the two metals made contact Rickon and Bran pushed past Theon and were in the kitchen ready to start their decorating duties. 

“Alright you two. Give them 5 minutes to cool or you’ll melt the frosting.” He scolded playfully while wafting the muffins with a cold baking tray to speed up the cooling down process. 

They did not heed the warning from their elder brother however. They got the piping bag and made quick work of putting the wet vanilla frosting onto the top of the cupcake. And as Robb had warned it began to slightly melt at the bottom and slightly around the cupcake. They still continued and Robb moved each cupcake near the window in order to have the coldness got towards the heat and try to cool the cupcakes down to reduce the damage. 

Theon was handed a fully decorated cupcake by the youngest Rickon and he had no choice but to accept it. 

 

Robb licked a bit of the buttercream off his nose. Theon, much like the cupcake topping had been earlier, was melting down. He let out a very nervous chuckle but not out of fear, out of love. Only Robb could get him flustered in such a state. It was very, very suggestive but he wouldn’t let himself get caught up in the moment. They could talk about what they wanted to do later. 

 

Theon was leaning in the kitchen doorway and could see the two boys smiling at him. They knew something he didn’t and concern grew within him. More often than not they had secret plans and schemes that people rarely knew about until the prank was being pulled. Rickon was the one who took most action but Bran was the one who would be the mastermind behind them both. 

Both of their eyes signalled towards the top of the door frame and Theon looked up then back to the kids. There was no way that they had done this without them knowing. Then again considering how thick as thieves they were Arya had probably taught Rickon a thing or two about being a silent criminal. 

Stuck up with some sticky tape was the traditional mistletoe. 

Bran looked Theon dead in the eyes with his slightly offsetting smile he sometimes did as Rickon asked Robb something of the most dire importance. “Hey, Robb could you go get our aprons. We left them in the living room.” Rickon said with such innocence, knowing that he was helping Bran with their cupid style scheme. 

“No problem.” Robb would have made a remark about how Rickon’s legs were working but then he had to cut that expression from his vocabulary after Bran’s terrible spinal accident. Robb walked up to Theon and he now knew what the two scheming little devils had planned. Theon had no time to warn Robb but it was too late. He was already on his way over. 

“Robb. They’ve tricked us both.” The Greyjoy said, rolling his eyes and darting towards the two. He wasn’t mad in the least. In fact, the only real pain it caused was that it was so cheesy he felt he was going to explode. 

Robb shot him a confused look. Theon pointed his finger up and Robb’s eyes moved up to the lintel. He gave a nervous chuckle as he had kissed Theon before but not with people present. Now he supposed he had a good enough excuse and it would be good practice. Besides, it would be two people who wouldn’t judge him for anything.

“Merry Christmas, Robb.” Theon said, moving in close. 

“Merry Christmas, Theon.” Robb was the first to plant his lips on Theon’s and the two shared a moment of passionate joy.


	2. The True Tale of Theon Greyjoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A winter fairy tale. Brave Warrior Robb is sent to go slay a winter witch plaguing their town. However when he meets the so-called witch its nothing like he expected.

The village of Winterfell had many tales. There were tales of men, beasts and creatures of a mythical nature. Though these tales had been passed down by word of mouth so the truth had always been distorted and made untrue. They'd been poisoned and told as the truth. 

Robb Stark had always loved these tales. That was until he had been chosen to be the main character of his own story.

“You know what you have to do. Take this sword! Put it through the witch’s heart.” An elder of the village told him as another gave him an obsidian coloured blade into his hand. They left him alone to prepare.

Robb was a young warrior, you see. Very few warriors were given the task of protecting the town and Robb had completed his training with flying colours and he had been given the honour of being the one to save the town. Saving the town from what you ask? 

You see most of the time it was protecting the village from the wicked walkers made from snow covered mountains from which only the sound of howling wolves came from. No one knows where they came from or where they originated from however it was commonly known that the witch in the western cave was responsible for their creation. They had been dealing with these creatures for just about 8 years now and each year they had always lost their best candidate. Though all of them had died their bodies had, at least, been returned. Only without their hearts intact. 

People tried to come up with their theories as to why she would take their hearts. Some said she ate them for power, others claimed she had a sort of hunter’s collection but all of them agreed on one thing. She needed to be stopped. 

Each year they took the boys and girls from the town and trained them to slay the wicked demon that would plague their town every winter. 

They would have to rely on their summer crop as for the last 8 years their winter fruits and vegetables had all suffered from a form of ice related disease. People were suffering but the town was sure that this would be the year that their curse would be lifted. 

In fact there were so many stories that it had become a bit of a folk tale. Many renditions had come from it but no one was aware of the true tale. At a young age Robb often wondered what would cause someone to do this and if he were the lucky one to be chosen he would have definitely found out. Now it seemed he would get a chance to find out for himself. 

The definitive version was that a wicked witch lived in a cavern on top of the mountain. She would cast her spell over the village yearly and then her powers were fueled by the suffering of the common folk and whatever magic was used for her heart ritual. 

Robb honestly didn’t think that he was ready for this but with the weight of everyone counting on him he couldn’t fail them. Currently he was setting up his resources and his supplies alone. Everyone had already said their warnings and farewells and good lucks but right now he just wanted to be alone to prepare for this battle. 

He was so focused he didn’t notice the knock on the door. It wasn’t until he heard an “urhm” coming from within the room. He looked up and saw a very muscly woman standing there, staring him down. He recognized her as one of the Greyjoys. It was her face that gave it away. Her eyes sunken and her hair, black as the night. It swept over her face as if she was trying to hide herself away from the others.

The most striking part of her face was the smile. The reason it resonated with him was because he had not seen her smile. Ever. She did have a small range of looks to wear. They ranged from discontented to ready to murder anyone. Though she had come close to wearing a smile upon her face. Though it was when everyone else was at their lowest points in their lives. She would only smirk in the winter. Only for one day. December 25th. 

He had only heard that something had happened to a close family member once and that was why she was like this. 

“Yara Greyjoy. What do you want?” Robb asked, looking into her eyes. She seemed like she had no real emotion, only a sort of half-hearted regret. He wasn’t sure but something was really off with her. 

“I’m leaving. For good. There will be nothing left for me here. You do not have to use force. Bring him to this location. It will end better for you.” She held out what looked like a closed scroll but upon further inspection he realized that it was a map.

Robb was lost. A lot had been said in one sentence and he was still trying to decipher the first part but before he could ask what it all meant she had already made her way out of the building and untimely out of his life. He had no idea why but something felt off about her. He ran out of the building to find her and get her to explain herself but as he turned his head around the quiet street she was nowhere to be seen.

Robb could see his breath against the chill of the night and that reminded him that he needed to get going. He could not afford to waste any time with this mission if he was to try and save this town. 

Alas he got up upon his horse and rode up the mountain way, mothers and daughters were watching from the window while the men simply took of their hats in respect in case he was to meet the fate that the other boys from the village had met. He refused to die. He had his life to look forward to and he wouldn’t lose his heart to some ice powered monster. 

As he rode up the mountain he could feel himself getting colder and colder. The witch beginning to set the yearly curse upon the town. He would stop the witch before the ritual was complete. 

The cave had been very damp if Robb was remembering correctly. He could remember being thankful that he had worn shoes with a good grip so that he wouldn’t have to slip and slide all over the cavern. 

After a couple of failed attempts from the rock as it failed to produce a spark on the fourth strike he had managed to light up the entire cavern. His breath began to become visible yet again so he made haste. He felt he would freeze before completing his mission. 

The more steps he took the colder he became. The cave began to change as well. Water would no longer run down the wall but instead little icicles took its place, sharp ones at that. Robb had to be wary to not accidentally impale himself. As Robb explored deeper and deeper the need for the light became less and less as at the end of the tunnel as it seemed there was a strange blue coloured light that was shining from something. He squinted his eyes to make sure he was seeing correctly. 

This had been nothing like Robb had expected but his guard was not let down for one moment. This could have all been an illusion in order to fool him. They had simply told him that the witch had ice powered magic however but they didn’t mention any more of her powers. If she did have illusion powers his task would become a lot harder. 

As he entered the main area he saw a showed growing upon the wall. He drew his sword, the noise it made mimicking the sharp sound of the footsteps coming closer.

The figure before his shocked him to his core. He was a completely normal looking villager. Although he had odd little features about him. Like how his hair was a crisp white and his hands were covered by white leather he had thought impossible. His body was completely still unlike Robb’s that was shivering to keep itself warm. 

His clothes seemed more refined than the average mans as well. Many men would have shabby looking clothes but his looked like they had just came from the seamstress herself, Robb recognized it as being black with hints of yellow colouring. A nice contrast to the rest of the room. In terms of everything he took more of a feminine approach but somehow that gave him a little more power over Robb. Very commanding.

“My Name is Robb Stark! I come from the village of Winterfell from the seven kingdoms. I am here to slay the witch now step aside and bring me to her.” These were the exact words he had been told to say. He had been trained in almost every scenario for this to be happening and though he didn’t think it was necessary he needed his training to be impeccable. 

Upon hearing he was yet another human soldier Theon groaned. Every year it was the same deal. 

Without thinking Theon threw an ice knife towards his feet but Robb’s ironwood shield made little work of it. Theon had not known any form of shield to deflect his attacks so this would prove to be a very interesting challenge. Robb looked up at him again. It was a mistake. Surely this could not be the witch that everyone was talking about. It must have just been one of her creations. 

Robb’s sword deflected the icy blade and the male witch seemed annoyed at this development. Beforehand when anyone would come to challenge him all took was a swift movement of his hand before they would fall before him. Their shield’s shattering into little shards of ice and snow. Theon had to admit that this one was rather persistent in his pursuits, all of the others would have fled at this point. 

Though with time he was getting weaker he was still more powerful than any of puny men who would come up here to challenge him. Though stronger men were a challenge he did have a strong admiration for them and beforehand he might have plucked up the courage to ask one on a date but unfortunately he had not seen anyone for at least a year. They all left him before they could get to know him. 

“I am here to slay the witch!” Robb repeated only this time with a little more anger in his tone. He wanted this over as quickly as possible and this man was keeping him from his goal. 

“Get on with it then.” Theon said, summoning up a storm within the mountain cave. Robb looked up at the ceiling as clouds began to form within the cavern. 

“You’re the...Witch?” Robb stopped to make sure this was correct. He had always been under the assumption that the witch would have been a female. He had his suspicions but now he had all the confirmation that he needed. This was nothing like the tale he had been told all those years ago. 

A small laugh echoed throughout.

“Are you surprised? You were expecting a female?” Often Theon would give them the element of surprise to the 8 warriors who had come here previous. He would lull them into a falsehood then he would strike. However he would never draw blood, let alone kill them. He never had in his life. He had grown accustom to the sound of people cussing him out so his emotions had been pretty hardened.

Robb readied himself for another attack.

As Theon went to cast another bolt his hand began to seize up and he screamed in pain. He held his hand close to his chest and Robb saw a weird, murky, blue liquid coming from it, leaking out from the glove. Robb had a pretty good idea of what it was but he’d rather not think about it. The clouds above then disappeared as he fell. A heavy grunt came from him as he tried to regain his composure. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He did not want to die like this. 

Robb lowered his sword. He couldn't help but feel a deep urge to help the poor creature. Though he was tasked with slaying it he had not expected it to be so weak. But in the training he had also been told not to harm anything that was clearly already in pain. 

“Are you alright?” Robb asked him approaching. Suddenly an icy stalagmite shot up from the ground, making sure Robb could come no closer. Theon was quick to remove the glove and inspect the damage.

“It’s nothing! I’m fine.” He said rapidly, taking off the glove to personally inspect the damage. He was not fine. He could see that the hand was pulsing a grey colour. Theon tried as hard as he could to re-cover his hand with his glove but as more shards began to form, making it impossible for him to put it back on. He hid it away from Robb. 

Then with his sharp mind Robb deducted it. “You’re not at full power.” It came off as more questioning but Theon knew what he had meant by it. 

Theon had not planned to be found out like this but it had to come out at some point or another. 

“I lost it some time ago. Another stole it from me. What I have left is used to keep me hidden away up here.” He had a certain look about him. Robb couldn’t tell what it was but it was as though his eyes had been sad for many, many years beforehand. Theon saw no point in lying. If he was being honest if he kept using his power like this then he wouldn’t live to see the next year. He didn’t think that it would matter anyway. 

“So I have to go somewhere else to save my town from the frost plague?” Robb asked. By the way Theon was speaking he thought that all the hypotheses had been wrong and they had been going after the wrong mythic creature. 

“No. Once you have slain me the other will have no purpose here. He will move on somewhere else.” He knew the other rather well and he guessed what he would do. He had been able to hide from him for long enough though as he was fading he feared it wouldn’t be too much longer before he would be exposed. 

Robb responded with a small understanding. He looked back at Theon’s features and couldn’t begin to understand how human he looked. In his mind he was built up as some horrific looking monstrosity. He was quite the opposite. Robb found him almost adorable. 

“You look almost human. You could have come down to the village.” Robb didn’t know what it was but slowly all of his defenses were going down around him. He didn’t know if it was a trap but he doubted that he would be faking it to such an extent that he would be faking those emotions. 

“I couldn’t have. My hand.” He pulled it up. It had looked bad before but now it seemed the more stress he experienced the more shards of ice would stick through it like a blade and it looked very uncomfortable. It seemed like it had been that way for a very long time. Theon tried to hide it away but Robb had seen enough so he saw no point in hiding it. 

“So you haven’t been the one plunging the town into the winter and stealing people away. Stealing their hearts?” Robb was asking the only question that he wanted answered. If he answered the way he wanted then there was a chance that he was innocent. His innocence would have shattered everything.

Robb did not know what the town would do but he knew they would never accept it as the truth. It would have all been seen as lies and deceit. They would have killed him without a judge, jury or executioner. And Robb doubted that they would have had the same mercy with him. They would say that the witch’s magic had corrupted him beyond repair and had warped his mind with his magic. 

Theon looked him dead in the eyes as he spoke. 

“I have. I need them. I can only eat what I make in your vegetable patches which I have influenced my curse upon. And I need enough food to last me the entire year. The only area with enough land is your village's growing patch. I have not been the one to kill people however. That has been another. The one who stole my power. Without it I am forced to eat yearly. My body can’t handle regular food, it is too hot.”

It made sense to Robb. An icy curse would make it hard to eat foods that weren’t frozen solid. He couldn't begin to imagine how Theon had been living like this for all these years. Theon could see Robb’s sword gleaming as his hand throbbed a light blue colour. 

“It doesn't matter now…Slay me.” Theon had not expected the fight to take that much out of him and he didn’t feel like he was going to last any longer if he kept on fighting with Robb. He cleared anything out of the way of his neck and made it incredibly easy for Robb to strike him down. 

Robb looked at the man and took a moment to think about the information he had learned. It was a lot to take in all at one time but he knew the difference between right and wrong. Killing him now that he had a better understanding was very unthinkable. 

“Then I cannot slay you.” Robb said as he dropped the blade and raised his hands in surrender. This took Theon as quite a shock. Often they would have died fighting but this time it seemed he was going to keep his heart within his chest. He had already prepared himself but he wasn't going to die. 

Theon’s eyes fluttered in disbelief. Someone had...spared him? Impossible. He was a hideous creature who deserved death for everything that he had done. 

“Why? You seemed eager before.” He had tried to make it sound sarcastic but it came out almost distressed. 

“You’re defenseless. I cannot in good conscious fight you when I know I have the advantage. You’ve been innocent to an extent. I’m sure if I go down to the town and explain we would find a way to help you. We have doctors. I’m sure if you saw the beauty in people you could learn to live with them in peace again.”

Theon could have laughed at what Robb said. Beauty? In this world? Preposterous. At one time in his life he might have thought this but not anymore. 8 years ago there was only pain. 4 years ago there was Isolation. This year there was nothing. Nothing to look forward to, nothing to think about. It was going to be a cycle that repeated itself. 

“There is no beauty in the world. Only the cold.” Theon replied as he got up and ran a hand through his hair. 

“It has been long since I have seen my family. They were my only sense of warmth.” 

“Who? It’s a small town, I may know them.” Robb said, hoping and praying that they hadn’t died during one of those long and cold winters. Maybe then this mess could have been sorted out with a little more ease if they had some village witnesses to back up his claim of him being totally innocent. 

“The Greyjoys.”

Robb was in shock. This was Theon Greyjoy. The boy who had gone missing first, before anyone else.

Only now did it make sense to Robb how Yara knew exactly what to do. She had hidden the fact that she had been his sister once very well. She attended every witch hunt meeting. True she had always remained silent but now he knew why. It also explained how in previous years he had been able to elude capture. 

This reminded him of the map she had previously shoved into his hands. He took it out and now more thoroughly examined it. He saw what he hadn’t before. A portion of the map had a small inky black ring surrounding it. Theon could see Robb’s face lighting up and he grew a little concerned. 

“I want to show you something.” He shoved the map back in his small pouch and went to grab Theon’s still human looking hand. 

Theon stole his own hand back from him. He didn’t want to go anywhere with this random stranger despite how kind he may have seemed towards him. 

“Where do you want to take me?” Theon asked. 

“Yara wanted me to take you somewhere.” Robb said. His body may have been made of ice but only it truly stiffened at the mention of his sister. It had been so long since he had seen her, though they may have had their differences he did miss her greatly. Though she was what ones in the village would refer to as a ‘Rambunctious whore’ it was that rough type of sisterly love that she had shown to him throughout his entire life. 

On the way down from the cave Theon looked towards the stranger. He hadn’t left the cave for a whole year. ‘The snow is the most greyish colour I’ve ever seen it.’ Theon thought as he watched it coming down upon them. He wished that it did not have to be this way. For at the beginning of his transformation into the witch the snow was as white as a bedsheet and was so pure it could make a virgin blush. He was losing his touch. Either that or he was dying. 

Robb smiled at him as he turned to see Theon looking very uncomfortable about heading outside of his literal comfort zone. 

After a moment the snow lightened up a little bit and became a little more white. Theon had not seen it become this color for a while now. It looked pretty. Just like a certain escort of his. 

“So, brave warrior, what is your house name?” He said, sarcasm thick. 

“Stark.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After some traveling and a lot of conversations the two exchanged, Robb was taking a rather nice shining towards his intended target. Robb found that despite him being described as so monstrous he was actually a pretty funny guy. In fact he was a little bit proud. He enjoyed flirting and showing off, that one thing was for sure. 

They had talked about lots of things. Like Theon’s life before everything happened, Robb’s village and how much it had changed and his home life. Theon took a note that Robb seemed to always bring up his animal companion. The way he spoke let Theon assume he missed him dearly. 

He spent every available moment trying to show off what his cool ice tricks could do. What Robb didn’t know was that he was actually trying to make him impressed. He wanted to do something special so he summoned a wolf that looked exactly like Robb’s dog back home. Though he had never seen Grey Wind exactly Theon had seen enough mountain wolves to know what he was doing. 

Robb inspected the small snow dog and the likeness of it was uncanny. It was like Grey wind had been trapped in the mountains for the longest time and was having trouble getting all of the flurried snow out of his long fur. 

“Woah, This is-! Thank you.” Robb petted the dog and while he expected it to be cold he had not expected him to bark loudly. Scaring him within an inch of his life. Robb gave Theon one more of those adorable smiles and he let his face turn an unreadable shade of pink. The dog began to playfully lick Robb’s face. 

Theon couldn’t help but have a small laugh. The dog followed in tow behind them. He didn’t notice how weird it was but considering earlier he was nearly impaled by ice that came from his hands he could suspend his disbelief of this being possible as well. 

He had only met him for 5 minutes yet they already had a pet together. True romance at its finest. 

They walked a little bit further and Theon could feel himself changing for the worse. By allowing Robb to take him on the journey he had played himself as a pure fool. Perhaps it was time that Theon stopped everything. Besides, if this was his last night here he could easily say that he had spent it well. 

Why was he dying you ask? Regrettably the humans from Robb’s village had uprooted about ¾ of the food he had infected for himself so he had to ration his food throughout the year. He had run out about 9 days ago and was getting desperate. 

It was his last night but if it meant spending it with someone like Robb he would be okay with it.

“I..umm..want you to have this.” Theon was acting very unusual about it but he didn’t mind. In fact Robb wouldn’t like to admit how cute he was. Take away the blue blooded hand bleeding out of the picture and he looked like a lad that Robb could take out for a night in the tavern. 

In his hand Robb had been left a small piece of black rope, no thicker than a piece of cloth. 

“Thank you?” Robb said not really sure how to respond to it. He wasn't sure but he would rather show manners and be grateful then ungrateful. He put it in his pocket. Theon nodded. 

“It will make a little more sense later on.” Theon nervously chuckled knowing how insane it sounded. 

They traveled for a bit longer and then Theon could feel a sense of dread overcoming him as he got closer to where Robb was heading. He stopped in his tracks and refused to move. Robb did not hear any more crunching snow behind him and he turned round in an instant. 

Robb gingerly extended his hand forward and waited to see if Theon would grab it in return. Theon was unsure but in the end he supposed it would be okay. He grabbed Robb’s hand and they marched forward. 

They came forwards into the small grotto like place and to Robb’s surprise it was some kind of lake. It was one of the most peaceful, serene places that Robb had ever laid his eyes on. 

“What is- Why do I know this place?” Theon looked around as if he was trying to place it in his mind. The gears in his head were turning but he simply couldn’t place what it was that made this lake so recognizable. 

 

“This is where I...Changed...” The memories may have been all those years ago but it was still ever so fresh in his mind. 

“I’m so sorry.” Robb could assume that was why Yara had marked that place specifically on the map. As sort of a reminder of some kind. Robb didn’t see what was so bad about changing in a place like this but then he remembered how much pain he had to go through so maybe it wasn’t that good of a place for him to be. 

Theon walked up right to the edge of the water and looked at his reflection. Eight years really did make a difference and it was only a couple of seconds before he turned his head away as to not have to look at it. 

Theon’s face gave a long sigh. He so desperately wanted to be sad, somber, melancholic and anything that he could use to give him the will to live but the silence was making this all too perfect for him. 

“I feel...at peace. It was December 25 I think. Ironic isn’t it?” Theon mused as he playfully tossed a bit of snow in the air and watched it melt as it hit the ground. At least there was something he could find amusing about his supposed death day. 

“Skating.”  
“What?”

“Me and Yara used to go skating here all the time.”

 

“Would you like to skate?”

Both the dog made of snow and Robb looked at him with pleading eyes. 

Theon looked towards the ice and back at Robb. He hadn’t seen such a warmth in years. If he was glad of one thing it would be having such a pure soul such as Robb right beside him. It was like the sun that burned him so was shining through Robb and giving him all the warmth that he so desperately needed. 

Theon took Robb’s hand, Theon slightly jerked away but Robb simply grabbed him a little gentler than before. Theon of course needed no skates and Robb had been packed with every essential utensil imaginable so he was able to supply himself with a pair of fancy skates. Theon was slightly offended that Robb had the audacity to look better than him. He shot him a smirk and they began to dance. 

And thus, the dance upon the frozen water began. Robb had trouble keeping up but Theon seemed more than happy to help him when he fell and make sure he was kept safe and sound. 

While initially it had been Robb who’d taken the liberty of starting, it was Theon who took the lead and was equally matched with Robb in terms of skills upon the ice. 

They did one last dramatic move to finish the routine and the two of them were breathless both in terms of air and passion. Both couldn’t believe how much the other had matched so well. 

A withered looking log provided a seat as they rested their weary legs. They took a moment to take in their surroundings. They could have done this forever. If Robb brought up food from the village then Theon could change it without anyone having to die for it. It would be nice. 

“It was short lived. Thank you.” Theon said as he could feel his body beginning to dissipate. Though Robb couldn’t see it, yet he surely would in a moment’s time. 

Not understanding what it meant Robb laughed and made a face which made Theon blush. “I don’t mind staying with you honestly. I think we can make this work.” Robb was feeling rather hopeful at the prospect of this becoming a reality for him. Sure it had only been a couple of days but he could see something good in him that could become a rather good relationship. 

“Robb you don’t understand. You’ve done it. You’ve completed your quest. Your people will eat once more.”

“Oh?” Robb was hoping that Theon was considering going down to the village with him and getting this all sorted. They could say how he was simply a victim of the witch and this poor wanderer in the woods had been passed on the curse. At least that was what he had hoped for. Alas it was not what was going to happen. The first part would happen just not the way Robb thought that it would. 

“I’m free.”

“What?” Robb’s voice almost shook with concern by what he was trying to say. He couldn’t lose him now considering what had just happened. 

Theon’s body began to dissolve into wisps of snow and flurry. Robb was trying desperately to stop it but it was too late. The last thing he saw was Theon mouthing a thank you and smiling. 

Robb was yelling for him. 

One glowing, blue, squid-shaped, ice-like crystal had been left behind in his place. He could not understand the meaning of this but then he supposed his family was a part of the Greyjoys and that was their symbol after all. 

Robb then noticed how the small token had a small hole in the top. Then it clicked into place in his head. 

Robb took out the gift he had been given earlier. Many a thought went through his head but his main question was how did he know? Or had Theon always known? It was a mystery but no matter now. None of those questions could ever be answered. 

He wore the squid with pride and he knew it was probably time to head back down to his own village. He would set things right by his memory. Sure there would be people who would disagree with him but he didn’t care now. He had to do something for him. Something for Yara wherever she may be. 

He would tell the true tale of Theon Greyjoy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young hunter Theon is in the midst of the terrible Irish famine and while hunting for some food he meets someone, or something, in the deep dark woods

Theon never really liked Northern Ireland it was true. The people were horrid and the weather was dreary. If there were any redeeming qualities to be found he was afraid he would have to keep on looking because he would find it nowhere here.

At least there was the food to be grateful for that was until the potato famine hit. By god had it hit the entire country hard. People in the streets were dying of starvation. Bone-like carcasses in the street, children being orphaned as their mothers and fathers went to look for work and the amount of death Theon saw around him was unbearable. The city wasn't much better as workhouses were overfilled with diseased peasants.

Theon had left him seaside home in favour of finding some better nutrition. The storms were becoming too much and they could not get out onto the sea to catch their food. For you see their family had counted on the weather being good so they could live off the sea of need be and didn't bother to store up any preserves. How foolish the Greyjoy family was. Theon would return soon enough but only when he had proved himself in finding enough for his entire family.

Yara had, of course, offered to go with him but Theon knew that she was the glue that would hold their wreck of a family together.

Currently, he was staying in his uncle Victarion's cabin within the woods. He had emigrated towards a small place in America known as Moat Cailin. Apparently, he was holding down that place rather nicely. It was the middle of April and showers were in their fullest effect however the woods that surrounds Victarion's place seemed to keep most of them dry. The deer and rabbits were common in this place so Theon could get the meat all prepared and then he uses bones for soup. It wasn't much but he would live there for a while. Maybe even sell some of the dears and send some of the grain back home.

The forest was silent as Theon crept through it. Lurking for his prey. Bow and arrow in hand like some kind of medieval archer. Years were spent on honing his skills so he could hunt with the most accurate shot he could.

Into his line of sight sprung the biggest stag he had ever seen. It had its meat in all of the right places and made Theon's mouth water from just looking at it. He reckoned it would feed a family for at least 3 weeks if the meat was used in the correct way. The door looked around and Theon crept back down. No need for getting spotted now.

He drew his bow and arrow as he had the deer in his sights. He was ready to go in for the kill and drew his string back. He lined it up and drew a short breath as he released the arrow, watching it fly through the air as it hits its mark.

The arrow's slim wooden shaft made its way towards the stag and Theon knew he was successful whenever he heard the crack coming from its leg as the impact of the stone arrowhead colliding with a bone. Theon was ready for another one to go but the stag was too quick for him.

It became a quick chance and though the animal was wounded he still had the strength of ten men and was making his escape hastily. Theon followed suit. Though it was nowhere in sight the droplets of blood that came from behind it were a good indicator of where he had gone.

By the time he found the Stag again he was in an unmarked part of the forest. A place which he no longer recognised. He would have a hell of a time trying to find his way back. The trees were bare and no sign of life came from them. He grew worried the deeper he walked into the mythical place. One step at a time, hearing the crunching beneath his feet. He was well aware that this was a place of magic as was about to put his foot down he noticed he would have been stepping into a perfect circle of mushrooms. A faerie ring.

As he tiptoed around it he then heard a growl come from the end of the forest and he froze where he stood. He wasn't ready to deal with such a thing like this.

As his eyes moved up he saw a beast of a wolf. Not just any wolf. The biggest one he had ever seen in his life. Its eyes were practically glowing against the darkness that was behind him. It's fur a grey colour and though there was lost of the fur it was kept in a pristine condition. Theon almost forgot to breathe at the majesty of him. In the jaws of the wolf was the dear with the arrow in its leg. Theon's legs were keeping him restrained in his spot. Yara had told him to remain perfectly still and he would be okay. Out of all the things he expected a wolf was not one of them

With its beauty came a fear. This thing could kill him in seconds if he so much as made a wrong move.

"Fucking wolf" Theon breathed under his breath.

The wolf came up to him and Theon saw what literal death looked like. The wolf had almost human eyes. He had no intention of dying like this but it seemed like the way that he would be going.

The silence was broken.

"Calm."

Theon took a moment to look up at the creature and then around to anyone who could have spoken. Or perhaps the sound had come from the trees but it seemed impossible as there was no wind which could have caused it. Then again the Faerie ring should have been the first clue.

"You are far from home." The wolf spoke again.

The lump that had formed in his stomach was gone as he put on a brave façade. "There's been a terrible plague. Our food is gone."

The wolf came closer to inspect him and Theon tensed up yet again. "Let me help you." The wolf said.

"Why?" Theon readied his bow and arrow again but lowered it as he spoke once more

"Because I'm a Faoladh. I am not like those others. I am a protector of sorts.

Theon could let himself relax as he heard what type of creature he was. They were known for being rather a passive creature and very unlikely to murder him so that was always a good start. "I've heard of your kind. You saved many a child from the harsh winter." Theon said. He believed it was a young Wex Pyke who had gone missing during one of the colder winters and most of the village had in their minds prepared themselves for the funeral yet low and behold a couple of days later he returned completely unharmed and covered in fur.

"It is what we do," Robb said.

They both knew that Theon would need to get back to his home but he didn't actually realise where the hell he was. His map was probably useless considering how he had gone into what was normally considered unmarked mythical territory.

Robb explained. "This forest changes. You will need my help to get back home as I stated before."

He was right. Theon looked around the area they were in and it looked completely different from the last time he had properly observed it. The trees had grown more elongated and the brush has grown thicker. Theon began to panic as the claustrophobic nature of it set in. He hated small spaces. Hated. Hated. Hated. He wanted out. Panic. Fear. No escape.

Robb could see he was beginning to drown in his mind and took his hand in a caring embrace. Theon then lost track of whatever was causing him to panic so greatly. Robb had powers that let him relieve any worry or fear from a human's fragile mind.

Theon was worried but for a different reason then intended. To have someone care enough to stop him going into panic mode was something he had never really experienced before except for the girl by the harbour who would occasionally ask him how he was doing. This was caring and Theon wasn't sure how to return it.

Theon was going to leave and save himself some form of embarrassment that day but something Robb wasn't aware off was that Theon had not eaten for a couple of days.

"Are you alright?" Robb saw the swaying lad and jerked to help him but Theon was resisting the help. He could do this on his own. If he took help he would feel weak and that was something he felt enough on a daily basis. Something about the wolf made him feel more comforted

"Fine…Just need rest." He lied right to his face. Robb's little snoot came up close to him and Theon's entire body tensed up.

"I sense you haven't eaten for quite a while. Allow me. I shall protect you until the night comes. Then I shall have the best chance of getting you home again. The sun is about to rise." Robb pointed behind him. Theon could vaguely make out the sun rising from behind the thick brush of green and from his limited knowledge he knew one thing for sure. He was going to transform soon.

Theon would have told him otherwise but the grumbling from his stomach wasn't going to let him refuse help. Robb lowered down his back and Theon climbed onto of him.

Theon found the wolf's fluffy skin soft and the moment he attached himself onto the fur he was instantly cuddling with him. He found it weird knowing he was probably a man underneath all of that fur but he didn't care. He was the softest thing he had ever touched and he wanted more. Sure he had animal pelts from hunts and whatnot but no living animal would be around him long enough for him to get a proper feel for it.

So with the human on his back Robb's paws made haste as he sprinted through the woods and

Robb only stopped in front of a small opening within a mountain like structure. For a genuine moment, he thought he meets with the same tragic fate that befell his own flesh and blood. There was a strong possibility that the beast had lured him to his home and now he was going too dragged down, never to be seen alive again.

He closed his eyes and waited for death to come as Robb made his way deeper and deeper into the cave, the darkness enveloping them both.

"We're here. You must rest up." Robb said as he brought Theon into a small place that seemed like humans would rest within it. It was damp but he was sure it would keep them dry. A small fire that was in desperate need of wood provided enough light for both of them to see each other. Before Theon could say anything else Robb took an odd stance. There was an anticipation waiting in the air as Theon could see the wolf's skin being to bubble as if it were a boiling stew. In one big blinding flash, he changed himself. Grey being replaced with a pale peach colour.

And thus Robb transformed. His fur no longer covering his body but rather a light mop of hair that fit just nicely on his head. At first, he had suspected that his hair would turn the same colour as his wolf fur but surprisingly it had turned the same colour as the autumn that had come before. Kissed by fire as the old saying went.

The other rather noticeable thing that he had picked up on was the fact that when he transformed out of his wolf skin the only thing covering his body was the small crisp breeze that floated into the cave. A blush crept upon his face as he hid his smirk. Theon had laid in bed with many men and women before but Robb quite possibly had the biggest cock he had ever seen. Theon being a man himself was of course intimidated by it a little but he couldn't help but drool a little at the sight of it. When it came to romance and other sensual things Theon was as subtle as a fox in a hen house.

Theon saw a lot and finally decided to look away out of respect.

"I do not mind you staring. It is natural to observe my human form." Robb said as he could see the second-hand embarrassment. Theon, being a gentleman, handed Robb his cloak to cover his nudeness. Robb looked down at the cloak of gold and pulled it against himself rather quickly. Never had the experience silk before, it was a nice experience.

The two of them finally settled into their cave. Robb moved some things around and brought out what seemed like some dry aged beef. Theon hadn't seen meat juicy and tasty before. Robb allowed him a couple of moment to tuck into it before speaking more with him. Only in a minute was the last of the juices dripping down his cheek.

"What is your name?" Robb asked, only now realising that he had no knowledge of what he was called. He couldn't keep on calling him human forever. Well, he could but it would make things significantly more awkward if Robb was the one constantly in control of the situation.

"Theon." He said swallowing. Robb's lips curved into a small smile. Such a pretty name for a pretty face. "I am Robb. I am the king of the North." Robb said with pride.

Pffft. Theon laughed. He didn't know why but the way Robb flaunted about with such a genuine pride made him seem so much more adorable. Then again speaking literally he was just a giant excitable puppy in a human body. "Ireland already has a Queen. Good old Queen Victoria."

Robb smirked back at him, it was a toothy grin of course. Theon began to wonder what that mouth could do but then he thought to censor himself from the dirty thoughts. This was no time to be thinking about such things like this.

"Mythical creatures do not have to abide by the rules of mortal men," Robb told him. Theon shrugged. That made sense. They were two different species after all. Theon supposed he did abide by the mortal laws of men.

"When should we begin to travel?" Theon said. He hadn't meant to sound rude but he couldn't help it. His defences were built up rather well and he would rather know now. Robb thought for a brief moment. He looked up towards the moon and saw that it was getting dangerously low to the ground. Soon he would be powerless. This part of the forest truly did have a habit of manipulating the time around them.

"It will be better to do it by night as I can have my full potential strength at that time of the night." It seemed the best course of action for them to take. Theon didn't know much but since Robb was the magical one of the two he knew that Robb was better versed in the matter.

Small talk as something that Theon wasn't used to. Normally he was direct and straight to the point or in certain other situations he could be seductive but now he wasn't sure what to do. Thankfully the gods had decided for Robb to be a great conversation starter.

"Tell me more about your home," Robb asked wondering more about the human world. All he knew was how to protect people but he knew not of how they worked or anything that they used in their day to day lives and loved to hear people talking about it

Theon could see how eager he was and he could see it as though his tail was wagging despite it not coming out for another couple of hours. Theon's hand extended and scratched Robb behind the ear and he howled with delight. Theon was with an actual human puppy.

"Well, I live with my sister Yara and my father Balon. I had two brothers but they both went missing. And Yara's wife Daenerys." Theon said hoping Robb would give him an honest reaction to what he thought about Yara loving another woman. Theon prayed deeply that he would see it as normal. For his sake.

"Oh?" Robb knew it was very uncommon in this period of time for women to be marrying women. Of course in the past, it had been common but with specific people coming into power it was becoming more and more frowned upon. It was a shame really because for mythical creatures it was so commonplace. Why deny the right to love another?

Theon began to explain confused by what Robb had meant with his small oh.

"Well Daenerys was a Selkie and one day my sister was scavenging on the beach and found a seal pelt. It turns out that was hers. They had misunderstandings at first but as it turns out they really do love each other. Daenerys knows where her seal pelt is kept but as of yet, she has not made any attempt to recover it. In fact, Yara even offered her freedom from this marriage but she's happy."

Although Theon was still young and unwed he didn't mind so much. He enjoyed his freedom and when the right person came around he was sure he would know who it was and that he would want to spend the rest of his life with them. Growing old together and going to explore a manner of unknown places.

"I meant your brothers." Robb corrected him. He was on some very thin ice he could tell.

Visibly he had made a mistake as his face had dropped by a lot and he tried to build himself up so that he didn't seem weak in front of the beast. A coughing fit overtook him as he tried his very hardest to clear his throat.

He began the story.

"A kelpie took my brother. Then my other brother fell for a Banshee. Both were apparently disguised as beautiful women. They were thinking with their cocks." He made his pain into a joke. He supposed it was almost always what the other people did so why not. Theon, of course, thought with his dick as well but not as much as they did. Theon wondered if right now by talking to the wolf he would be making the same grave mistake that his brothers were doing though in this case it was more survival yet there was an element of curiosity that came with the person.

Robb gave him a pat on the shoulder. He felt terrible for bringing it up and forcing him to relive his brother's memories despite how painful they must have been.

"Have you ever had an experience with mythical creatures? Apart from myself." He asked to move the conversation right along.

Theon took his thoughts out of his memories and then tried to think of any mythical experiences he had experienced. Only one really came to mind.

"Once. I know this will sound odd but a tree spoke to me once. In the Godswoods." Theon said remembering the odd experience he had. Robb seemed to smirk to himself. Theon was going to question what that smirking face was about but he wouldn't want to push his luck. He was already taking so much time away from this creature. He would be rude to ask so many questions.

They shared a look. Not of distrust but mutual respect. Theon knew that he defiantly had a crush blooming for the Stark but he wouldn't tell him just yet. After all, they had only met the night before. Then again it seemed a lot of stranger things had happened within the woods.

Thus they spent the rest of the night talking in front of the fire to keep themselves warm. Sharing their tales of the past and their plans for the future.

"So that's how my mother and father met." Robb finished his sentence and more importantly his story of how his mum and dad had fallen in love by building up their relationship. Apparently, his story must have been boring or something along those lines because the youngest Greyjoy had fallen asleep.

As the sun set against the blazing horizon the morning was gone and his transformation took place yet again. Robb had turned into a wolf and as he saw Theon's sleeping form he felt a certain necessity to wrap himself around the poor frozen lad. Robb slowly circled around the small area and then he placed himself beside the sleeping body.


End file.
